The Knesset House Committee on Thursday approved the proposed Basic Law: Torah Study for its second and third readings after coalition lawmakers agreed to remove its most controversial provision, transforming the legislation into what legal officials described as a largely declarative measure.

The decision followed negotiations between Likud and the chareidi parties aimed at producing a compromise that would preserve coalition unity. The revised bill passed the committee by a vote of six in favor and four opposed.

The committee, chaired by MK Ofir Katz, accepted Katz’s own amendment eliminating Section 2 of the proposal. The deleted provision had declared that the purpose of the law was to recognize Torah study as a fundamental value “to create a balance against other fundamental values in the State of Israel.”

During the discussion, Katz said that after talks with the chareidi coalition partners and other members of the coalition, it was decided to retain only the opening section of the bill, which recognizes Torah study as a foundational value and part of the heritage of the Jewish people in the State of Israel. He added that some opposition lawmakers had indicated they might have supported the legislation had the second clause been removed. Katz also emphasized that “no soldier will be harmed” by the bill’s passage.

Katz further announced that on Sunday the committee will advance separate legislation intended, he said, to address the needs of soldiers and those serving in the military. He pledged that only after that bill moves forward will the Knesset hold its final votes on both the revision and the Basic Law: Torah Study.

Opposition lawmakers continued to criticize the proposal despite the changes. MK Naor Shiri argued that even without the deleted section, Torah study remains the only value explicitly enshrined in a Basic Law, while other national values, including military service, have not been granted similar constitutional standing.

Government legal officials, however, indicated that the revised bill carries little practical legal effect. Deputy Attorney General Avital Sompolinsky said that removing the disputed clause leaves existing judicial balances intact, making the legislation primarily declarative. Knesset Legal Adviser Sagit Afik expressed a similar view, stating that once the controversial language was removed, the law could no longer be interpreted as a basis for disadvantaging soldiers or altering the allocation of government funding or other resources, leaving it as a statement recognizing the importance of Torah study.

Despite agreeing to the compromise, some chareidi lawmakers voiced disappointment over the changes. MK Yinon Azoulay said that removing Section 2 was not consistent with his party’s position but that it agreed to the coalition’s request. United Torah Judaism chairman Yitzchok Goldknopf likewise opposed deleting the provision, maintaining that it should have remained part of the legislation.

The compromise reached between Likud and the chareidi parties is expected to ease resistance to the bill within the governing coalition while preserving formal recognition of Torah study as a foundational national value, but without the provision that critics argued could have carried practical implications for military service policy and government funding.